Image born from the local beer boom

COEDO is a craft beer brand that represents Japan. It is served at restaurants that are particular about beer, and can also be found at eateries outside Japan. The brewery is located in Higashi Matsuyama, in the central region of Saitama prefecture. Built in 1970’s, the beautiful building was formerly a training center for a major company. “The foundation of the company comes from an organic farming company that my in-laws started. They were interested in agriculture that was gentle for both the environment and people. COEDO beer got its start from a desire to make beer made from barley that avoided the damaging cycle.” Shigeharu Asaka, president of Koedo Brewery)

They began making beer in 1996. Initially, many small breweries were popping up around the country due to less stringent regulations. “Kawagoe is often referred to as “koedo” and is a tourist spot. We initially started the business as part of the tourism. We began making beer using locally grown sweet potatoes and the business took off thanks to the local beer boom.”
But small scale brewing required a skilled craftsman. Yet many local breweries treated their products as souvenirs rather than “food products” and were run by unskilled staff.

While their uniqueness attracted attention at the beginning, many eventually earned negative reputations for having a taste that was too distinct and sometimes not necessarily delicious. The local beer boom faded away and COEDO could not avoid the impact. Realizing the importance of making a change, president Asaka visited European pubs which were making their own beer, to figure out the future of COEDO beer.

Craft beer with local roots

In 1997, COEDO beer invited legendary braumeister Christian Mitterbauer, 4th generation beer maker, to Japan so that the brewery staff at COEDO could learn the art of beer making from him. After studying under his tutelage for 5 years, COEDO beer evolved from a local souvenir to a premium craft beer.

“We revisited what it meant to be local and handmade, and reflected that appeal in our beer. Until then, we were too concerned about the major brands. But we realized that it was important to allow our individuality to shine through considering our scale. Taking special care in the brewing the beer and communicating that. We put a lot of effort in quality control so that our customers could enjoy delicious beer at its peak.”

Growing from a local beer to a premium craft beer, it’s clear the strategy was successful. They’ve received good reviews in global competitions and have become popular among beer enthusiasts. During our tour of the brewery, we observed each craftsman taking special care in making the beer. They will always remain true to their origin no matter how popular they become.
“We want to remain a beer that is supported by the local community.”
The dedication to beer making will continue.

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Japanese Whiskey Becoming Popular Around the World

There was a time when luxury bars were told not to “display bottles of Japanese whisky”. But now, Japanese whisky is popular around the world, gathering attention for being auctioned at outrageous prices. “Ichiro’s Malt”, made at Chichibu Distillery located about 100km northwest from Tokyo, is known for paving the way for the popularity of Japanese whisky. The company running the distillery, Venture Whisky Ltd., was founded by Ichiro Akuto in 2004.

“My family ran a sake brew house that went under when it expanded to shochu, spirits and whisky. When the company was sold, the whisky business was not included, and we ended up with 400 barrels of 20 year old unblended whisky. Sasanokawa Distillery in Fukushima prefecture helped us to store the barrels, and I started the business after I was able to retrieve them.” (president Akuto)

“Ichiro’s Malt” was named after the president, but it wasn’t easy to sell at first. President Akuto believed that it was important for his whisky to be served at bars who placed priority on how the whisky tasted rather than the brand name, so he personally visited bars in Tokyo, asking the bartenders to taste the whisky without revealing the brand.
“It was totally unknown, so I had no choice but to sell the whisky myself.
I personally visited about 2000 bars over a 2 year period, finally selling 600 bottles.” (president Akuto)

Japanese whiskey made in Chichibu

The whisky became popular drawing a lot of dedicated fans after bartenders gave it high praise, so his down-to-earth sales efforts definitely paid off. With support from many sources, president Akuto decided to open his own distillery under “Ichiro’s Malt”. In 2006, “Ichiro’s Malt Card King of Diamonds” earned a gold medal in the premium Japanese whisky category of the British magazine “Whisky Magazine”. Praised around the world, “Ichiro’s Malt” won the highest award in the Japanese category at the World Whiskies Awards for 5 straight years. The distillery was completed in 2007 and received its license in February 2008, allowing them to officially begin making whisky.

“The Akuto family first began making sake in Chichibu, with great tasting water from Arakawa River and the right temperature difference for making whisky.” (president Akuto) While the factory and warehouse are not elaborate, it allows them to preserve the flavor that is recognized worldwide. President Akuto wanted to preserve something traditional that was carried on in this area, and that “something” took the form of whisky which became renowned around the globe. “I want to be able to monitor what I make, so that I can keep track of the daily changes and build on that. I feel like I finally understand whisky making after 12 years, and I’m at the starting point for the next stage. I’d like to make whisky that reflects what Chichibu is all about, using local ingredients.” (president Akuto)

His dream is to drink 30 year old whisky made at the distillery in Chichibu. The top-runner of Japanese whisky continues to improve on his craft over time.

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Kato Farm in the residential area of Hidaka

When one thinks of a ranch, one thinks of spacious hills. However, Kato Farm is located in a residential area of Hidaka City, which is known as a bedroom town in the city center. Many people are surprised to see the ranch suddenly appear in a quiet residential area, but the truth is that the ranch is not located in a residential area, but rather, houses were built around the ranch. It was about 50 years ago that Kato Farm moved with 10 cows from Tokorozawa to this location, beginning with the purchase of a dairy cow by the previous generation in 1954.
At that time, there were no houses, hardly any roads, and it was pitch-dark at night,” says Tadashi Kato, president of Kato Farm.
The farm now has about 200 dairy cows, and not only does it provide a comfortable environment for the cows in freestall barns with space for them to roam freely without being tied up in a large area, but it also established a gelato store in 1995 and a dairy products factory in 1997 to produce high-quality milk, yogurt, and cheese, and to develop the sixth industrial sector. In 1997, a dairy factory was established to produce high-quality milk, yogurt, and cheese.

Kato Farm, where the milk tastes exceptional

It is not a large farm. However, the taste of the milk is exceptional. The milk is pasteurized and bottled in as little as one hour (12 hours at the most) after being squeezed. Non-homo pasteurized milk,” which does not crush the fat in the raw milk, suppresses the absorption of fat because the fat globules are not crushed, and the milk has a rich sweet taste, yet it is refreshing and has no milk odor.
For safety and peace of mind, we have been particular about our feed, aiming to produce milk in a way that cannot be done by large corporations. We are located in a residential area, so many families visit us on weekends.
The dairy farm also has a restaurant on the premises that serves a variety of meals, including cheese bowls with various flavors, risotto with lots of cheese, and milk korai nabe (hot pot). To familiarize visitors with milk and dairy products, there is a rich menu of hands-on activities, including milking, making butter, cheese, ice cream, and pizza (reservations must be made by the day before; currently under renovation as of December 2020).

Processed dairy products are also available.

The direct sales area also offers a wide variety of processed products such as pudding, soft-serve ice cream, cheese, and yogurt. The concept of the shop is “to let as many consumers as possible taste the deliciousness of dairy products,” and they are actively developing products and restaurant menus.
The puddings, in particular, are so delicious that Hidetoshi Nakata, who had tasted them at famous restaurants across the country, couldn’t help but remark, “They are delicious. Kato Farm uses only the finest milk, cream, sugar, locally produced eggs, and vanilla beans, and no additives.

Kato Farm also offers a wide variety of cheeses

There is a wide variety of cheese available, and Kato Farm’s burrata cheese won the Gold and Grand Prize in the burrata category at the Japan Cheese Awards 2020, one of the largest cheese festivals in Japan, which is held every two years. Other blue cheese, wash cheese, and chevre also won bronze awards, indicating their high quality. Although dairy products are most often associated with Hokkaido, it is well worth the trip, as it is close to Tokyo and can be enjoyed by the whole family.

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The Metropolitan Area Outer Discharge Channel, one of the world’s largest underground discharge channels

The Metropolitan Area Outer Discharge Channel in Kasukabe City, Saitama Prefecture, from the outside, is merely a building along the Edo River. However, about 50 meters beneath the surface hides a 6.3-km-long water discharge channel. With an open capacity of up to 670,000 m3, the facility is one of the world’s largest underground water discharge channels, designed to take water from five small and medium-sized rivers flowing nearby, including the Nakagawa, Kuramatsu, Oochikotone, No. 18, and Yukimatsu Rivers, underground and discharge it into the Edo River.

Also used in the movie “Ton de Saitama”

The facility is also used in the movie “Ton de Saitama,” where people gather to liberate Saitama, because of its temple-like structure with giant pillars.

Metropolitan Area Outer Discharge Channel with an “Underground Temple”

Descending a long flight of stairs, one finds a vast space lined with countless koban-shaped pillars. There is some humidity, but there is no smell like sewage. It was hot and humid outside, but this underground space was cool and pleasant. This is the huge pressure-controlled water tank (177 m long, 78 m wide, and 18 m high), known as the “Underground Temple. When there was no water, as in this case, it was often used for filming battle scenes in special effects movies (filming is currently suspended). (The site is currently closed to filming.) There is no other space or view like this one.
The five shafts, from Shafts 1 to 5, are approximately 70 m deep and have an inner diameter of approximately 30 m. The system is designed to take in river floodwaters and channel them into a pressure regulating tank in a controlled manner.

The Metropolitan Area Outer Discharge Channel, which played an active role in preventing flooding

The area around Kasukabe City, Saitama Prefecture, where the Metropolitan Area Outer Discharge Channel is located, used to be a popular and populated area within commuting distance to Tokyo, but the low ground level used to cause flooding every time there was heavy rain. It was in the 1985’s that the basic concept of the Metropolitan Area Outer Discharge Channel was formulated for the purpose of flood control improvement. After conducting surveys, design, and land acquisition, construction work began in 1993, and the project was partially completed in 2006.
In October 2028, when Typhoon No. 19 caused rivers in various areas to overflow and burst their banks, the Metropolitan Area Outer Discharge Channel was in operation, drawing in floodwaters from small and medium-sized rivers and draining them into the Edo River, thereby reducing damage in the surrounding areas, and its success was widely reported in the media.

Tour of the “pressure regulating tank” is also available.

This kind of facility is rare in the world, and many visitors from overseas come to see it. Tours are also offered to help visitors learn more about the role of the Metropolitan Area Outer Discharge Channel, including a tour of the popular underground temple “pressure control tank,” a walk through a previously undisclosed work passage, and a descent halfway down the stairs inside the shaft (content depends on the course; the pump course is currently suspended as of December 2020). The guide is only available in Japanese, but there is also an application that allows visitors to simulate the experience of water being stored in a giant water tank, as well as a multilingual audio guide application for foreign visitors. Hidetoshi Nakata has also brought friends from overseas as a surprise in the past. It goes without saying that this underground water discharge channel protects the lives of the people living in the surrounding area. The pursuit of functionality has resulted in a beautiful and mysterious space. It could be said that this place is also a space with functional beauty.

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brand-name bean sprouts that distinguish themselves from other bean sprouts

Just eat one and you will know the difference. The bean sprouts produced by Masatoshi Iizuka of Iizuka Shoten, a “bean sprout shop in Fukaya” in Fukaya City, Saitama Prefecture, have a strong flavor, are slightly sweet, and have a vegetable-like aroma but no distinctive bad taste. As one would expect from a brand of bean sprouts that are sold in famous department stores in Tokyo, the bean sprouts are 10 times more flavorful than ordinary bean sprouts. It is said that the bean sprouts sell like hotcakes, even though they are 10 times more expensive than ordinary bean sprouts.

Price honor sprouts

Sprouts are called the “honor student of prices” because no matter how much prices rise, the price of sprouts does not go up. But from my point of view, the opposite is true. Even if prices rise, it is a poor student that cannot raise its price.
There is no such thing as a “bean sprout. The term “bean sprouts” refers to sprouted plants grown hydroponically without soil in a dark room where sunlight does not reach, and there are various types, such as mung bean, soy bean, and black bean, depending on the type of seed used. Because sprouts consume nutrients through photosynthesis when exposed to light, they are grown in shaded conditions to avoid losing as much nutrition as possible, but they are popular because they are cheap and nutritious. However, most of the bean sprouts sold in supermarkets today are “industrial products” that are automatically produced in computer-controlled factories. The price is about 15 to 20 yen per 100 g. “Only the big companies can make do at this price. Small and medium-sized suppliers are going out of business. In such a situation, Mr. Iizuka is working hard to produce bean sprouts the old-fashioned way, conveying the original taste of bean sprouts and maintaining high added value.

Iizuka Shoten, where everything is done by hand

Iizuka Shoten’s “field” is inside a building the size of a gymnasium. The temperature, humidity, and light are carefully controlled in the room, where large tank-like containers are lined up and the bean sprouts are grown. First, the beans are soaked in hot water of 30 to 40 degrees Celsius, and wait for about six hours.
Touch the beans. They are warm, aren’t they? That’s because heat is generated when they germinate. Beans are living creatures, don’t you think? So if you grow them carefully, they will become delicious. We use clean groundwater to grow healthy bean sprouts for six days. It is also important to control the temperature to just the right level, which is a task that requires careful attention.
In addition to the time-consuming watering and temperature control, Mr. Iizuka also hand-picks, washes, and bags the bean sprouts to minimize damage. During periods of heavy shipments, the bagging process is sometimes completed late at night, but the next day he may be out early in the morning to make deliveries. Mr. Iizuka’s passion for “Fukaya Moyashi” is boundless.

Iizuka Shoten uses black beans from Myanmar

Most bean sprouts are made from mung beans produced in China. Iizuka Shoten, however, uses black mappe beans from Myanmar. Compared to mung beans, black mappe is thinner and longer, but has a stronger flavor. They are also suitable for all kinds of dishes such as nabe (hot pot), stir-fry, and miso soup. Surprisingly, Mr. Iizuka’s bean sprouts have roots of equal length, from which he says he can extract a good broth. The price is 10 times that of ordinary bean sprouts, but it costs only about 200 yen. You should buy them as soon as you see them, because you will be surprised at the taste. You will discover that bean sprouts are a delicacy that should not be underestimated.

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Hirumaen Tea Studio is run by the owner of Hirumaen, who is also known as “Kyokuchajin.
Hirumaen is a relatively new tea farm in Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture, known as a production center of Sayama tea, and has been in business for more than 40 years.
The company produces a variety of teas, including hand-ripened teas, and as the name implies, it is committed to the highest quality from cultivation to tea production and sales.

Hand-momi-cha,” where each tea leaf is individually handled

If you know what kind of tea it is, you must be a connoisseur. Unlike ordinary Japanese tea leaves, which are dried by machine, te-momicha is literally dried by hand. The hand-moiled tea leaves are carefully rolled into a needle-like shape by a skilled tea master who spends a long time to finish the tea. The highest quality tea can cost over one million yen per kilogram. This tradition of hand-rolled tea has been handed down from generation to generation in Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture, known for its Sayama tea. The Hiruma-en Tea Studio is located on the Kaneko Plateau, a vast expanse of tea plantations as far as the eye can see.

In many other tea production areas, tea farmers, processors, and distributors are separated, but in the case of Sayama tea, many people do everything themselves,” said Hiruma. I think that is why the traditional hand-momi-cha technique has been passed down through the generations,” says Hiruma. By doing it consistently, Hiruma is able to sense the subtle changes in the tea leaves, which makes it possible to produce delicious tea.

There is an order to the rubbing process. There is an order to the rubbing process: rotary rubbing, rubbing through, DENGURI rubbing, and KOKURI rubbing. We change the rubbing method by feeling the temperature and humidity of the leaves with our hands.

The surface temperature of the roasting furnace is 40 to 50 degrees Celsius, and the steamed tea leaves “dance” in Hiruma’s hands as steam rises from the furnace. The steamed tea leaves “dance” in Hiruma’s hands while the steam rises. Nakata tried his hand at it, but it was extremely difficult to apply heat evenly to the entire tea leaves, which can be as large as one’s arm. He is able to produce a flavor that cannot be produced by a machine by interacting with each tea leaf one by one.

A tea master who has won the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award seven times

Mr. Hiruma is also the chairman of the National Association for the Promotion of Handmade Tea, and has received the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Award, the highest honor for tea masters, seven times. His pursuit of tea is so great that he has developed a new brewing method called “Yae-no-Kanade,” which is used to brew extremely well-polished tea. Mr. Hiruma, who is extraordinarily particular about tea, taught Nakada how to make teemomi tea. Only the best first-grade gyokuro tea leaves, which are hand-picked and covered two weeks before harvest, are made into teemaki tea. The tea leaves are then carefully hand-picked on a roasting furnace (hoiro), which is a special stand designed to heat the tea leaves from below and dry them while they are being hand-picked.

He says, “I rub them carefully, feeling not only the texture of the hand, but also the color, smell, and weight of the tea. If you don’t have this sense, you won’t be able to make a good hand-milled tea.

How to drink delicious hand-rubbed tea

Skilled artisans spend a lot of time and effort to make hand-momi-cha. The way to drink it is to pour a few drops of hot water over two or three te-momi teas and taste the “drops”. When you put it in your mouth, the flavor and aroma fills your mouth with a feeling of indescribable happiness that is hard to believe that it is just a few drops. It is also interesting to note that when the tea leaves open up beautifully, the tea leaves themselves are reproduced in their original form before drying. Once you drink it, you will understand why this tea is so expensive. It is quite a high-end product, but it is sold in small quantities to make it easier to find, so I recommend buying it as soon as you see it. With the advancement of mechanization, it is now easy to obtain delicious tea, but it is also good to take the time to taste something that takes a lot of time and effort to make.

We have been researching and developing tea techniques, seeking novelty while respecting tradition. We hope you will enjoy our high-quality teas, which are carefully hand-picked and hand-firred over time, and our new-fangled teas with gorgeous aromas like flowers and fruits.

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Soy sauce plays a supporting role. However, the taste of both the ingredients and the dish will change dramatically depending on the soy sauce. Tasting the soy sauce at Matsumoto Shoyu Shoten, I was reminded of the depth of this seasoning.

Matsumoto Soy Sauce Shop has a long history.

One street off the main street of Kawagoe, a “little Edo” district crowded with tourists, is Matsumoto Soy Sauce Shop, which has a history of about 250 years. The store facing the street sells a wide variety of soy sauce-related products, including not only soy sauce, but also soy sauce-based dressings, rice crackers, pickles, and soy sauce ice cream such as gelato. Matsumoto Shoyu Shoten’s recommended product is ” Hatsukari Soy Sauce. This soy sauce is made with a lot of time and effort, and is known to be a favorite among restaurants throughout the country.

Matsumoto Soy Sauce Shop’s specialties and “Hatsukari Soy Sauce

Matsumoto Shoyu Shoten is committed to using locally produced ingredients, and uses groundwater from Chichibu to make soy sauce the old-fashioned way. Although we do not produce a large amount of soy sauce, we do not use any additives, and our top priority is to provide safe and reliable soy sauce, ” says Kihisa Higuchi of Matsumoto Shoyu Shoten.

In 1764, the wealthy merchant Yokota Gorobei began producing soy sauce, and in 1889, Matsumoto Shinjiro, the founder, took over the business, giving birth to Matsumoto Soy Sauce Shop. Entering the warehouse, which was built in 1868, one is enveloped by the gentle and mellow aroma of soy sauce. The 30 cedar vats lined up in the storehouse are also 180 years old. While soy sauce produced by machines is shipped after about six months, the soy sauce here is matured slowly over the course of a year. Hatsukari Soy Sauce, a speciality of the brewery, is re-brewed for another year to give it a mellow flavor.

Our soy sauce is made in this warehouse and cedar vats. The yeast and lactic acid bacteria that live in these vats give our soy sauce its mild flavor.

Just like a sake brewery that produces delicious sake, this soy sauce brewery is old, but not “old-fashioned” at all. When you take a sip of the moromi, you will taste the umami first, rather than the salty taste. For example, the same fish sashimi tastes much better with this soy sauce. As long as the wooden vats in this brewery are healthy, you will be able to enjoy this flavor. I hope that the traditional way of making soy sauce will be passed down to the next generation, and above all, I hope that the company will continue to devote all of its passion and skill to making soy sauce. Matsumoto Shoyu Shoten offers tours of their traditional soy sauce brewery.

You can also find more information here.

あわせて読みたい

Yoshiaki Hiruma, Hiruma-en, Tea Studio Hirumaen / Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan Hirumaen Tea Studio is run by the owner of Hirumaen, who is also known as “Kyokuchajin. Hirumaen is a relatively new tea farm in Iruma City, Saitama Prefectu…

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Crunchy and hard toasted. Traditional Soka Senbei rice crackers “Soka Senbei Ikedaya” “Senbei” shop is “dango” shop? ”Senbei” shop is ”dango” shop?Ikedaya was founded in 1865. It is a long established ”senbei (rice cracker) ” shop with 150 yea…

The post Hatsukari Soy Sauce – Hatsukari Soy Sauce, Matsumoto Soy Sauce Shoten, Yoshihisa Higuchi / Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Making a wide variety of sake

Asahara Brewery has its factory in Ogose, Saitama Prefecture. We interviewed Kenichi Asahara, the 5th president.
”About twenty years ago, in the time of my predecessor, we may have been the smallest brewery in Japan. We were only brewing about 9000 liters. Originally, we were making Japanese ”sake” and it’s only about 12 years ago, that we started making liqueurs. Now we are making about 144,000 liters of ”sake” and quite a lot of liqueurs.”
In March 2011, the company was met with a fire disaster, and the warehouse of the headquarters was burned to the ground, and one third of the ”sake” in production process was lost. The warehouse is still being reconstructed. They now make ”sake” in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, and they are making various liqueurs, wine and ”shochu” in the Ogose factory.

The fun of developing new products!

When you look at the product lineup of Asahara Brewery, you will be surprised by the wide variety. The number counts up to several dozens. Apart from their own products, they also undertake production of private brand products of other companies. Also, they are especially committed to the development of various liqueurs.
”Moromi zake”, cider liqueur, ”makkori”, plum wine, ”yuzu” liqueur, low-malt beer… Nakata tried one after the other, and one liqueur especially caught his attention. ”Sayama green tea plum liqueur”.
”I’ve never tasted plum liqueur with such bold green tea flavor. It’s delicious.”
It uses Sayama green tea, and the plums from Ogose, and the taste is a pleasant harmony of fresh green tea and the sweetness of plums.

”When I started making liqueurs, I wanted to make something unusual. Then I realized that the possibility is infinite, and we can make so many kinds of liqueurs. We now make vegetable liqueurs, too. Customers ask me, can you make such a liqueur? and we make anything. It is our motto that we never refuse any requests,” said Asahara laughingly. More and more unique ideas for new products came up, and Nakata’s conversation with Asahara about product development went on and on.

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A hometown of Japanese paper, Ogawa-machi

Ogawa in Hiki-gun, Saitama Prefecture is famous for Japanese paper. Especially, ”Hosokawa paper” which is thick and durable, is designated as Important National Intangible Cultural Property. The history is not exactly known, but one theory has it that the origin goes back about 1300 years.

It developed into an industry in Edo period. Being near the city of Edo which had a population of more than one million, the paper making industry was established there, as the demand for paper went up. More people meant more demand of paper makers in Ogawa studied various kinds and forms of paper from all over Japan, and developed skills enabling them to produce all kinds of paper.

Paid tax by paper!?

According to Takamasa Kubo of Kuboseishi, who showed us around, there is other reasons why, paper making industry became active in Ogawa.
One reason was, there was an abundance of ”kouzo” or paper mulberry, the main material for paper. The plant has very strong roots, so it was planted abundantly to reinforce soil. In the mountains surrounding Ogawa-machi, many ”kouzo” trees were planted to hold the soil to dam up water. Paper making started using these ”kouzo” trees.

Another reason was, the tax was paid by paper. ”In those days, there was not enough rice or other farm products to pay tax. So people paid tax with paper. It is believed that this led to further development of paper making industry,” said Kubo. Demand, availability of material, and tax, these elements have lead to the development the local traditional industry.

Why wouldn’t wet paper stick together?

In the workshop, Haruo Kubo, the manufacturing manager of Kuboseishi showed us the process of paper making. He worked with a large wooden frame called ”sukigeta”, which he rocked back and forth. This process is something one would imagine by the phrase traditional paper making . Of course, it is not easy as it looks. It requires well trained skills.

Nakata had a try, but he had to struggle very hard, since it was difficult to make an even sheet of paper in the ”sukigeta”. Then the sheets of paper are stacked carefully one by one. Then Nakata asked, ”And the wet sheets of paper don’t stick together, do they?”

”That’s right. By rocking, and straining water, the fibers of paper lie flat, so they don’t stick together. When these processes are skipped, the fibers become rough, and they stick together.”
That means each sheet is already a finished product. The stacked sheets are then squeezed and finally dried.
At Kuboseishi, they make a wide variety of paper, such as plain Hosokawa-gami, or paper with texture or dyed paper. In Japanese living style, there still is a lot of paper used in our surroundings, such as ”shoji (paper screens)” and ”fusuma (paper doors)”. I am sure that you will want to be more familiar about Japanese paper, when you get to know the traditional paper making.

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“Senbei” shop is “dango” shop?

”Senbei” shop is ”dango” shop?
Ikedaya was founded in 1865. It is a long established ”senbei (rice cracker) ” shop with 150 years of history, but it started as a ”dango” or rice dumplings shop. The Oshu Kaido road connecting present day Tokyo to present day Fukushima Prefecture ran nearby, so the area prospered as a post station town since the Edo period. Along that road , a tea house called ”Oume Dango” was opened. But why did it become a ”senbei” shop? Akira Ikeda, the president answered the question.
”The rice dumplings could not be kept for many days, so they flattened the dumplings and baked them. And they spread soy sauce on them because there were soy sauce production areas such as Noda nearby and voila! they were delicious. That’s the beginning of Soka Senbei, so it is told.”

“Arare” and “senbei” use different rice as ingredient?

Soka Senbei is generally known to be crunchy and hard toasted. Ikeda was explaining about Soka Senbei and was saying, ”There are more ”arare” in West Japan and more ”senbei” in East Japan”, when Nakata stopped him with a question. ”Wait a minute. What is the biggest difference between ”senbei” and ”arare”?”
”Senbei is made from ordinary rice, the one we usually eat as steamed rice. ”Arare” is made from glutinous rice.”
So, both ”arare” and ”senbei” are rice crackers, but they are different things. ”Arare” made from glutinous rice has rather chewy texture, whereas ”senbei” made from ordinary rice tends to be more crispy. The town of Soka was a rice growing area, so there were confectionaries made from ordinary rice. This has led to the creation of hard baked Soka Senbei.

Push them flat.

The crunchy texture of Soka Senbei comes also from the method of toasting. When the dough is toasted on a grill, bubbles will come up to the surface, just like when toasting ”mochi”. Then the bubbles are pushed flat with a tool called ”oshigawara”
So, this pushing makes the ”senbei” hard and crunchy. At Ikedaya, one can experience ”senbei” toasting, so Nakata, a great lover of ”senbei”, had a go.

However, it was harder than he imagined. He struggled with the ”oshigawara” in one hand, and barely managed to bake a piece of senbei. According to Ikeda, Soka Senbei are better, when they are flatter, but just look at Nakata’s senbei….
However, utterly unconcerned, he smeared his ”senbei” with soy sauce, and crunched away the self-made ”senbei” very happily.

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